Pasquetto: How conspiracists reappear and rekindle the spread of disinformation

QAnon is a conspiracy theory movement that spreads inflammatory claims online. But after the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, the site's eponymous and prolific poster “Q” went silent. 

Until recently. 

On BBC’s The Media Show, misinformation expert Irene Pasquetto weighs in on the resurfacing of Q. “We think it’s the same person because he used the same short code that’s used on the message boards,” she says. 

“All conspiracy theories have a core truth– child abuse, pornography, corruption are real problems in the world; It’s easy to fact check,” she says. But on sites like QAnon, lies and misrepresentations of these core truths flourish. “That’s what makes [the conspiracy theory] really credible.” 

So why is Q reappearing now after a 2-year hiatus? Pasquetto says it may be because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She adds that political events like Roe can be used by Q as a moment to engage in QAnon followers.

Irene Pasquetto is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. She specializes in research on disinformation and the public understanding of information misuse. 

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Listen to “The Return of ‘Q’” on bbc.co.uk. 

Learn more about assistant professor Irene Pasquetto.